Our invention relates to electric connectors, and more particularly to those of the separable type. Still more particularly, our invention deals with a separable multicontact connector suitable for use with printed wiring boards or the like.
It has been known and practiced widely to mount integrated circuits, large-scale integrated circuits or like semiconductor devices on printed circuit boards to form electronic circuit packages. It has also been known to mount such electronic circuit packages to shelf backboards via separable multicontact electric connectors. Such connect-disconnect electronic circuit packages are finding ever-increasing acceptance with computers, communications equipment, and allied electronic appliances for their greater versatility and flexibility in use and for the greater ease of maintenance.
We have found a problem left unsolved in connection with the separable multicontact connectors for such applications. The connection and disconnection of the electronic circuit packages are usually made with the power system cut off. However, some power systems permit no interruption. Then, if all the contacts of the plug assembly and receptacle assembly of the connector are to move into and out of engagement with one another, noise may be generated which can cause the misoperation or, in the worst case, destruction of the device.
We know some prior art separable connectors that have been developed in recent years in order to defeat this inconvenience. Such known devices are more or less alike in employing either a plug assembly or a receptacle assembly having signal, power, and ground contacts of different lengths. The ground contacts of the plug and receptacle assemblies first come into interengagement when the assemblies are being joined to each other, and last go out of interengagement when the assemblies are being separated.
We object to such conventional separable connectors because of their lack of ready adaptability to applications other than the one for which they were originally designed. The sequence of interengagement of the different plug and receptacle contacts has so far been determined as aforesaid by their relative lengths. Consequently, for each different sequence of contact interengagement, different connectors have had to be manufactured which meet that particular requirement. Or the connector manufactures have had to make and hold in stock an assortment of such different connectors to fulfill a variety of customer requirements. This practice is of course uneconomical. Besides, since no infinite variety of connectors can possibly be prepared, limitations have been imposed upon the design of the electronic systems that need such separable connectors.
There is an additional objection to the conventional separable connectors. The provision of plug or receptacle contacts of different lengths has itself been very costly. Moreover, they have had to be driven into, or otherwise mounted to, the plug or receptacle housings in prescribed positions thereon. Thus the manufacture of the prior art devices has involved many steps and required much costs.